National Construction Code (NCC) 2022: What's New for Residential Structural Design

What's changing with the NCC 2022 kick-off on 1 May 2023, and how do they affect your work as a structural designer?

About this event

On 1 May 2023, it will become mandatory throughout Australia to use the NCC 2022, replacing NCC 2019.

Join Brooks Smith, ClearCalcs' Head of Engineering R&D, on Wednesday, April 26th, 2023, from 12 pm to 1 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) as he takes you through the changes of interest for structural design, with a particularly focus on those provisions that affect residential buildings.

We'll also discuss how to make use of the new NCC 2022 in ClearCalcs, as well as how to continue with NCC 2019 if you have an older project.

In this webinar, we will cover:

• What's all the ruckus about energy efficiency? And why is NCC 2022 only taking effect now, in 2023?
• A few changes in the NCC itself
• New revisions of standards that must be used:
  • AS 1170.2:2021: General Wind Loads
  • AS 4055:2021: Residential Wind Loads
  • AS 4100:2020: Steel Design

Webinar Summary

The webinar titled "National Construction Code (NCC) 2022: What's New for Residential Structural Design" presented by Brooks Smith, Head of Engineering R&D at ClearCalcs, discussed the changes in the NCC 2022 that affect structural engineers, particularly those related to residential engineering.

The webinar also provided information on ClearCalcs, a cloud-based platform for designing concrete, steel, cold-formed steel, and timber structures.

The NCC 2022 introduces updates in energy efficiency requirements, wind loads, and other design provisions. ClearCalcs offers calculators compliant with the NCC 2022 and provides access to the updated standards.

Energy Efficiency Requirements:

The NCC 2022 introduces new energy efficiency requirements aimed at reducing household energy bills and addressing climate change concerns. The minimum thermal efficiency star rating increases from 6 to 7, requiring more insulation and control over glazing. A new whole-home energy use rating is introduced, with detached houses needing a rating of at least 60 and apartments needing a rating of at least 50. The NCC also includes condensation requirements and provisions for livable housing design.

Wind Loads:

The NCC 2022 updates wind regions, internal wind pressures, and other factors related to wind loads. The wind region map is revised, with new regions and changes to existing regions. Cyclonic regions no longer have special factors for wind speeds, but instead allow linear interpolation based on distance to the coastline. Terrain categories are simplified, and there are adjustments to shielding and hill multipliers. Internal wind pressures now consider large openings in buildings.

Steel Design:

AS 4100:1998, the steel design standard, is updated to the 2022 revision. The major change is the addition of a new bolt grade, Grade 10.9, aligning with the AS 1252.1 bolt standard. There are also changes to bolt capacity calculations and formulas for shear strength. Additionally, a major error in the mechanical properties of steel at elevated temperatures is corrected. ClearCalcs provides calculators compliant with the updated steel design standard.